Stars Falling
by RexRgis
Summary: Um...just a story that talks about Auron's trip after leaving Braska and Jecht to their fate...


Stars Falling

Chapter 1

Gone. Everything. His friends, his feelings, his life. He smiled a smile that only the dead could-a smile devoid of any mirth or life at all. He thought that this must be how ghosts feel while roaming Spira. How pointless it was, this entire trip; this was merely the path to Hell. No Farplane will wait for me, but mindless wandering even after death. But it wouldn't matter, for while he still had breath in his lungs, while his heart still beat in his chest, he would devote himself to revenge. Revenge for his fallen friends, his Lord Braska, his lousy, good-for-nothing fellow guardian Jecht. His entire life, his entire being, could be compressed into the short period that was their travels, the path of the Pilgrimage. No, that was the path of the damned, damning those who walked it to continue the Spiral, or die by way of Sin. What was it all for? Auron slammed his fist into the snow; he had lost everything on that trip. He was a failure, a guardian who failed his singular purpose. Did it matter that Sin was cleansed from this land? Was it worth it? Just for a couple years of rest…sacrificing summoner after summoner…no, he wanted this to Stop! Braska's smile as he willingly walked to his death, Jecht's thumbs up as he sacrificed himself to become the Final Aeon…Auron laughed to himself. Jecht always did have the simple solution; just go in head first, then see what happens. Braska always said that they were complete opposites that made a perfect friendship. Jecht with his happy-go-lucky attitude, Auron with his serious demeanor or as Jecht like to put it, plain grumpiness. Auron sighed and swept his hand through his gray-streaked black hair. What good was it to think about the past? With Braska dead, and Jecht a slave to Yu Yevon, what good would it do?

He stood, picking up his sword: a large, broad blade, too large for most people to even pick up. He lifted it easily and balanced it on his shoulder. Yunalesca had told the trio what they needed to do to slay Sin. When he had heard this…his faith had been shattered. This was why no summoner ever came back. They had all died fighting Sin, slain by fiends along the way, or sacrificed to summon the Final Aeon. This was why there had to be a guardian, so that he could be the Final Aeon. This was the reason why Braska had seemed so sad when Jecht had told the other two that hey would go to his Zanarkand when they were done with Sin…how ironic it was for Jecht that his home was just a dream sustained by Sin.

These thoughts swept through his mind like a flooded Moonflow, raging and churning, threatening to drown him…his eyes flew open. He was kneeling down on the ground again, frozen tears on his wind bitten lips, salty ice trails marking his face. He stared up at the sky and wondered how long he had been there, for the sun, once at its peak, had turned to stars, twinkling down, oblivious to his pain, to everyone's pain. He thought back to what his mother had said about stars while living on Kilika Island, how they were the "souls of summoners past watching down on everyone, protective angels." The day after she told him this Sin came. Auron never saw his parents again. People had found him washed up on the shore, his body battered and broken, the tide receding. He remembered how he had ran along the shore, sand flying up in his wake as he screamed up to the stars, "Why not me?! Why take them!? They believed in you, but all you did was stare down like you always do! WHY NOT ME!?!" From that day forward he vowed two things: stars were stars, fires far away, for summoners were human too, gone to the Farplane. Second, he would kill Sin. Even if he could not summon, he would guard a summoner so that he could have that opportunity.

He had followed the survivors to Bevelle, going to the warrior monks, begging to be one of them. They first said to him that he was far too young for work like this. After begging them for 3 days, they accepted him reluctantly. They gave him a sword, robes, and a place to stay. Day and night had trained, first coping fellow monks' styles, then straying from their path and blazing his own, Bushido, the Code by the Sword. Soon he had forged his first blade, the Shooting Star, a simple, large unadorned blade with a symbol carved in on the slightly curved end of the blade, "The Star." If the stars would not help people, he would be the one to help. His code would demand it and help those who needed it through the shortest, most efficient way; cutting right down to the heart.

Soon he had risen to become a leader of his own group of monks who wished to learn his Code. They had traveled throughout Spira, slaying fiends, rebuilding homes and performing small acts of generosity like hanging the laundry…but while Auron did this, he was unsatisfied; these acts did nothing to fulfill his goal of obliterating Sin. He announced to his group that he would be returning to Bevelle to train again and someday become a guardian. His men tried to argue, but to no avail; he would not be swayed.

Auron trained again, day and night, for his single purpose. But soon he realized that a mere sword would not be enough against Sin, but would require magic as well. He had never tried magic before, having no knowledge of it. He shared most people's wariness around it, but then decided to incorporate it into his sword techniques. He went to the high priest requesting him to teach the basic four elements to Auron. Auron, being a respected person, was taught magic. After countless hours of training, through blood and sweat, he devised the four Breaks: Armor Break, ice shattering defenses, Power Break, fire melting any weapon be it blade or claw, Magic Break, lighting jolting the ability to remember the flow of magic, and finally Mental Break, water slowing eroding away mental defenses. In areas where brute force was not enough, strategy would be used and skill always considered.

Unknown to Auron, he was being watched by the eyes of a certain young lady, the daughter of the high priest. She had asked her father to request Auron to court her. When Auron had received the message…he knew the consequences of refusing, but had stated no, that he would die an early death and he would not involve himself in anyone's life. The priest, enraged, had thrown Auron in jail, stripping him of any honors or rank that he had earned. And so it was through this that Auron now had become a disgraced monk, doomed to live his life in a cell. But unknown to him, there was also a certain summoner who had his name disgraced for marrying an Al Bhed.

Braska. The name of the summoner. He had been only a few years older than him, yet…sometimes he could be so…young. And at other times he made you feel far younger than he was. Auron had asked him why the summoner had bothered to free a fallen monk. Braska merely replied, "Your crime was unreasonable to say the least, and what better company for a disgraced summoner than a disgraced guardian?" The last word had sent a jolt through Auron. This was hi chance to achieve his goal, or rather, fulfill his purpose, to justify why he lived at all.

But the time was not now. Another summoner had slain Sin, brining another Calm. So for the next five years, they had gone around Spira, doing those simple mundane tasks that Auron had done before. But unlike the last trip, gifts were given to Braska for being a summoner. Among the gifts were a red robe and a spelled blade. Braska had insisted that Auron take both, saying that he had no use for them. The robe fit well and the blade had two aspects to it. When swung, lightning would follow its path through the air, exploding into fire after. An alternative was to sink it into the ground and send flame bursts beneath enemies.

Auron laughed; what good had the blade done him? He still failed Braska and Jecht. The Spiral went on, Spira doomed to it, bound by the teachings of Yevon. Somehow, someday, he would find a way to break it. But it had to be soon for Braska had begged Auron not to let his daughter, Yuna, go on the pilgrimage. But Yuna had shown promise, and even as a toddler she was headstrong in protecting people. Like father like daughter. The second promise…Auron was not sure how to go about it. How was one to obtain a dream? What a lousy…

"…good for nothing person! He's crazy as well Braska! Sin doesn't send people forward in time, he kills them!"  
"Auron calm yourself. Who are we to judge this man? Now hush, let me talk. Guard, step aside."  
The man in the cell jumped up, his unkempt hair swaying slightly. The blitzball that he had been playing around with fell to the ground.  
"What do you want?" he grunted.  
Auron started forward, "Show some respect you-"  
"Auron please, leave him be. What is your name?"  
You're looking at Jecht, star player of the Zanarkand Abes! The best that ever was!"  
"Zanarkand Abes?" Auron sputtered, "He truly is insane."  
"Insane?" Jecht roared, "At least I'm not going around in a pretty little dress!"  
"Why you-"  
"Please, both of you, quiet!" Braska shouted, holding his hands up between them. "Now, do you want to be free or not?"  
"Well, I don't have anything else to do and dying in this cell would be boring…what's the catch?"  
"Be my guardian."  
"Surely you jest Braska! He wouldn't last a second!"  
"Auron, you forget, this man claims knowledge of Zanarkand. Would you be so quick in judging him? Do you know all that Sin does to people? Braska inquired. Auron fell silent.  
"Am I going to get out of this dump or are you two going to continue to bicker?  
"Guard, please release this man."

By Yevon, Jecht was annoying! And yet, somehow he had mellowed out by the time they had reached Besaid Island. Braska had to go and obtain his first Aeon and…say good-bye to his wife and daughter…

Auron started to walk towards the Fayth Scar to where the Fayth resided. No summoner could ever obtain this power, for it was always in use by someone…or something. This Fayth was not made my one person, buy by many…and the power also made an orb of water floating in the middle of the pond…with faces in it…people said that they were the people killed by Sin, others say they made Sin…

Auron snorted; to maintain Sin, you'd need a lot more than that. After all, all the other Aeons were one person and they were tiny compared to Sin…but these were matters that didn't really matter to him.

He cut across the nearby cliff, pulverizing stone, carving out a hole in it. He sat and pulled his robe around him and closed his eyes, mind drifing away on a sea of troubled thoughts, knowing that drifting away from this nightmare life only brought him new ones…

End Chapter 1


End file.
